Taking on NYC one run at a time

Stockholm, Sweden: The Food

Luckily, our hotel had breakfast and dinner included so we didn’t spend too much money on other foods. Some of the food in the hotel were typical Swedish dishes and others were just whatever they felt like serving, anything from Indian to American dishes.

Either way, I’ll admit that I didn’t know what any Swedish foods were other than Swedish meatballs (you can thank IKEA for that) before this trip.

So of course I had lots of meatballs. Typical Swedish meatballs are served with lingonberries. They remind me a bit of cranberries but much smaller and not as sweet, they’re actually a bit bitter. The best meatballs I had during the trip were at Bakfickan. They were served with lingonberries, pickles (which were actually fresh) and mashed potatoes that were very light and fluffy. I also had reindeer soup at Bakfickan as well, which was delicious.

Swedish meatballs at Bakfickan

I also had meatballs at Bistro Nobel, which is the restaurant attached to the Nobel Museum. We had actually gone to the Nobel Museum the day before but came back the next day for lunch.

Beth and I shared the veal meatballs. Plus she got the asparagus soup. The sauce is also much thicker and more of a gravy but really makes the plate. The meatballs were good but such small portion. However, if you eat at the bistro, you get unlimited tea, coffee and bread to go with your order. So you can fill up on bread if the meatballs don’t fill you up.

The highlight of the bistro is that the chairs are signed by Nobel Prize winners. But you have to flip the chair over to see who signed your chair.

Veal meatballs at Bistro Nobel

We also went on a food tour. Two important points about it: 1) it was FREE and 2) it was more about places to eat in Gamla Stan, Stockholm than a food tour where you actually ate things. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and pointed out good places to go – both food and non-food places. However, some of the places he pointed out were closed either for the season or they just weren’t open for lunch.

The Nystekt Stromming is known for being 1) cheap 2) delicious and 3) it’s herring dishes. Stockholm is a very pricey city (and this is coming from someone who lives in NYC) so this food truck is known to be a go-to place for locals to eat.

Polkagris Kokeri was cool to visit to because of the history. Gränna is a city outside of Stockholm known for polkagris, which is essentially what we in America know as candy canes. Therefore, the store sold lots of hard candies plus some chocolate. You can also watch them make candy behind a glass window.

View from Polkagris Kokeri looking out

So we’ve officially moved into my favorite things – sweets and alcohol. I’m a huge fan of mulled wines so I had a few gloggs. Glogg has spices in it and it’s served warm. It’s usually served with gingerbread and/or nuts in the cafes I had been in. Usually it’s served during Christmas but it was on all of the cafe menus!

Glogg!

Two cafes worth mentioning are Chokladkoppen near the Nobel Museum and Cafe 60, which is short walk from the major shopping district.

Chokladkoppen is very small and super cozy – think all wood interior and lots of candles. It’s the type of cafe you’d go to on a date or for intimate conversations with your best friends. We went right after going to the Nobel Museum and even though it was packed, we didn’t have to wait longer than 10 minutes for a table. Their desserts were delicious. We ordered gloggs, princess cake and a cinnamon bun.

Afternoon snack at Chokladkoppen Princess Cake

Princess cake is cake with alternating layers of sponge cake, pastry cream, and whipped cream covered with marzipan. I really enjoyed the princess cake since it was so light and just the right amount of sweet. However, the marzipan was a little waxy and not that tasty.

Another place we went was Cafe 60, which reminds me of cafes I would study at in college or grad school. We went on a Friday night and it was dark and cozy. It was also packed with people. It seemed like a low-key hangout if you didn’t want to hit up the bar scene. There are a ton of outlets, cozy chairs and tables. Plus a huge menu to choose from.

We ended up trying the berry pie with vanilla sauce and the chocolate balls, which are covered in coconut. I was a huge fan of the berry pie with the sauce which wasn’t too sweet. The chocolate balls, aka chokladboll, can be found in most restaurant and cafe menus but I wasn’t a huge fan. It’s not that sweet and it’s deceptively filling despite it’s size. I tried it again at another cafe in Gamla Stan but still not a fan.

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2 thoughts on “Stockholm, Sweden: The Food”

We are always asked about food when we come back from a trip … How was the food in Italy , by example ? I read here that you sampled good food and you give good information for anyone traveling in Sweden. I only know the famous meat balls. I have traveled to Denmark , I think food can be a bit similar. Personally I don’t like fish so I would not like to eat herring. I know about glogg, it is nice to have in winter time but it is not something I drink very often. Thanks a lot for all this information.